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The team from Charity Navigator, the nation's largest independent charity evaluator and leading donor advocate, shares their thoughts on emerging nonprofit-sector issues and offers tips to better inform your intelligent giving decisions.

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Operation Donate With Honor: Charity Navigator’s Take

We’re here again: another upsetting announcement that fraudulent and deceptive fundraising practices have preyed on individuals giving to veterans and military causes. (Remember the cancer charity scams?) This morning, the Federal Trade Commission announced Operation Donate with Honor, a federal and state initiative working to enforce and educate individuals about these deceptive practices that scammers have used to create income for their own personal gain. Over 100 law enforcement actions from over 70 agencies across 50 states are working to crack down on fraudulent charity practices.We believe it’s important to #DonateWithHonor and follow best practices when it comes to giving your hard-earned money to a cause you believe in. Charity scams shouldn’t be able to take advantage of individuals across the country, which is why we’re highlighting our favorite tips and questions for donating that you should always ask a charity before giving your money.

Give through Charity Navigator’s Hot Topics! The best part about our curated lists is that you can trust your donation will be going to an effective and highly-rated organization -- we want your donation to go as far as possible, too!

Check to make sure that the charity is a registered 501(c)(3) organization.Get the organization’s EIN and run it through the Charity Navigator search function. If you can’t find it or the organization has a poor rating, consider giving elsewhere!

Ask the following questions to make sure they align with your giving values: What is the organization’s mission? What are the nonprofit’s goals? What is the charity’s history of success and impact?